French ‘Boys in Skirts’ campaign engenders conservative backlash

A student wearing a skirt faces anti-gay marriage protesters of 'La Manif pour tous' movement as they protest against the so called 'Ce que souleve la jupe' ( "What raises the skirt?") event in high schools on May 15, 2014, in front of the Clemenceau high school in Nantes, western France.(AFP Photo / Jean-Sebastien Evrard) / AFP

The ‘Lift the Skirt’ campaign encouraging French schoolboys to show up to class in traditionally female attire has incited a tense counter protest from conservative groups.

Tensions flared after a group of around 100 students and
left-wing campaigners began chanting “no fascists in
schools” and “equality”, according to AFP.

Eggs were thrown at the Manif pour Tous protesters, while several
scuffles broke out before the protesters were finally dispersed.

The idea to swap trousers for skirts in a stand against sexism
was thought up by the students themselves, and later received the
blessing of the school authorities and the Ministry of Education.

Those who chose not to bare their legs had the option of wearing
a sticker which says, “I am fighting against sexism, are
you?”

Although the campaign was staged in 20 schools last year, the
anti-sexism initiative was seized upon by Manif pour Tous.

French political activist and former Manif Pour Tous leader
Frigide Barjot shared the campaign's press release on Twitter,
and asked the country's minister for education, Benoit Hamon, if
girls should be wearing beards – a reference to Conchita Wurst,
the bearded Eurovision winner.

Right-leaning French daily Le Figaro ran a headline on its
website claiming that education authorities in Nantes were
“demanding” that boys wear skirts to school.

Although the newspaper later corrected its text to say the
schools was “inviting” male students to dress up in skirts, many
conservative politicians and activists had pounced on the wedge
issue.

Manif pour Tous described the initiative as “scandalous” and
called for the French Education Minister Benoît Hamon to
intervene and cancel the event immediately.

“It is not a trivial matter,” the group’s president
Ludovine de La Rochère said. “It is a form of cross-dressing
and is therefore a denial of the boys’ sexual identity,” she
continued. “It is disrespectful to masculinity and
femininity.”

Many students were angered that adults had attempted to promote
their own agendas on the back of the student-led initiative.

"They have no right to come to our lycee and hijack our
idea," Laurine, a student, told the French language news
website 20 Minutes.

"You can protest against sexism without having the intention
to promote gender theory. That has nothing to do with the
original issue and aim of this demonstration," said another.

Gender theory is the belief that children's gender identify is
mutable, and not fixed at birth.

Around 30 boys came to school in skirts on Thursday, with more
expected to follow on Friday.

"It's weird, it's a little cold, but it was important for me
to wear this symbol,” said Maho, another student. “I’m
doing it to show that there is sexism in high school and there is
still some way to go in the fight against discrimination. I was a
little hesitant at first, but when I saw the demonstration
against the operation Thursday, it was a no-brainer…we have even
more incentive to act."

French writer Christian Combaz told RT that this is not about
promoting tolerance but is an attempt to “make a political
point at school.”

“That is obviously not a joke. They are trying to lecture
people and we are kind of fed up. ”